If you need to come up with film-quality animations from vector and bitmap artwork, and if you don’t have any money to spend on a tool that can be used for this purpose, then you’re very well advised to go get the free and open source Synfig Studio application. Without asking for any money in return, this application will help you create 2D animations.

Synfig Studio is available for multiple platforms, mainly Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Apple’s Mac OS X, and last but not least, Linux. The Synfig Studio installation file for Windows is 28.9MB in size. Run this file, follow the onscreen instructions presented by a setup wizard, and moments later you will have the application up and running on your Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7-powered PC.

Synfig Studio’s interface will take up all your monitor real-estate. When you launch the application, several panels will show up and take up a predefined location on the screen. An inexperienced user may feel a bit overwhelmed by the interface. An editing whiz on the other hand should not have any problems with it.

With Synfig Studio, you can create any 2D animation you want. You can start out from vector and bitmap artwork and, instead of creating an animation frame-by-frame, just use Synfig Studio to create a higher quality 2D animation. To get a feel of what you can achieve with Synfig Studio, load one of the several examples that come built into the application; or visit the application’s official website and check out the Gallery.

No matter how you use Synfig Studio, one thing remains the same: the fact that you don’t have to part with your money to use it. As mentioned above, Synfig Studio is a free and open source application. If you enjoy using Synfig Studio though, consider making a donation to support its development.

Save time and resources by not creating an animation frame-by-frame. Use Synfig Studio to easily create 2D animations.

Pros Synfig Studio is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Use Synfig Studio to create animations. Several examples come with the application. Synfig Studio is free and open source.